“Turn off this damn highway,” Rudy ordered. “And follow the route I told you.”
The van swerved onto another road and then another and Abby knew they were miles away from the bank...away from safety. Suddenly they turned onto a dirt road and bounced along on uneven ground, knocking her against the stranger, except he didn’t feel like a stranger anymore.
He watched the gunman as if waiting to catch him off guard. But what could he do? His hands were tied, literally.
The van hit a pothole and her body slammed against the stranger’s. Her shoulder pressed into his and her thigh molded to his tight muscles. His strength radiated to her and her grip of fear lessened. She wasn’t in this alone. He was her ally. Her prince? Oh, God, had the heat twisted her brain? But he would be her only hope in the hours ahead.
And she didn’t even know his name.
* * *
ETHAN JAMES WATCHED the robber, reading him like he had so many other criminals. His teeth were yellow, his fingertips yellower and his eyes were dull and bloodshot. A drug-head. Which meant he was capable of anything—and he was dangerous. Ethan had to be careful.
The woman was holding up well. No crying, screaming or panic attacks. She had to stay calm if they were going to make it out of this ordeal alive. The odds were against them. Two armed druggies, and one of them had his eye on her. This was a highly volatile situation, and there was nothing he could do but try to protect her.
Would he risk his life for hers? He had a daughter at home to think about—a kid who was a stranger to him and seemed to hate him. But since he’d won full custody, he was trying to be a good father. He’d never had that chance before.
He promised to take Kelsey horseback riding this morning. Another promise broken. His whole life was riddled with them, and most of them were out of his control. Because he always put his job first.
He glanced at the woman who sat in a petrified state. Why in the hell had she stopped short? Now he might never see his daughter again. The woman was beautiful, he’d give her that. A blue-eyed blonde with inviting curves like he’d seen in numerous magazines—made to look at but not touch.
Her hair hung to her shoulders and dripped with sweat, as his did. A sleeveless green top was cut low, too low for guys with trouble on their minds. The filth in the van stained her white slacks. He was annoyed with her, yet empathetic at the same time. This kind of situation wasn’t easy for the strongest of women. Or even the strongest of men.
He tried to gauge how long they’d been on the road, but wasn’t quite sure. On and on they rode. Branches rubbed against the van so he knew they were in a remote area. That wasn’t good. Too much could happen away from civilization. They came to a sudden stop and the double doors opened. “Get out,” Rudy shouted.
Ethan scooted to the door and stood. He turned to help the woman but she was right behind him. After the semidarkness of the van, the sun was blinding. He blinked several times to adjust his eyes. The woman stumbled but maintained her balance.
A run-down shack was in front of him. Dried dead weeds surrounded it. No one had been here in a long time. Rudy shoved them toward a broken step. The door was half open, the lock rusted shut. Floorboards creaked as they went inside. A rat the size of a raccoon ran across the floor.
“Oh.” The woman stepped back, but didn’t scream or fall apart. He admired that. The rat was a little too big for his comfort zone, too.
“Sit down,” Rudy ordered.
The dirty floor was uncomfortable, but they were out of the hot van and able to breathe. Ethan took in the tiny room at a glance. Part of the roof had caved in over the sink. The refrigerator looked rusted shut, too. Two steel bunk beds with rotted mattresses stood in a corner. Junk littered the wobbly plank floor, and the glass in the two windows was broken out. An abandoned deer-hunter’s cabin, was his thought. How were the two hoods connected to it?
“Don’t even think about moving,” Rudy warned and walked out the door.
Ethan eased to his feet to listen and maybe get a glimpse of their faces. The masks had to be hot. He heard their voices.
“I’m sweating bullets in this mask.” That was the driver.
“Take it off. We don’t need them anymore,” Rudy told him.
“What are we gonna do?”
“This sounded good last night when I was high.” Rudy removed his mask. “Man, the boss is gonna be pissed.”
“Who cares? We’ve got the money and we’ll head to Houston and get lost.”
“I’m taking the woman with me.” Rudy made that clear.
“You’re stupid, man. I didn’t agree on no kidnapping. She’ll get us caught.”
“Shut up.”
Ethan took a quick peep. They stood by the van. Rudy was white, the other guy black, but he already knew that from their hands. He had to get the woman out of here and fast. Rudy was determined to have her.
He stepped over beer cans to the window and saw nothing but thick woods. This was their way out and they had to take it quickly.
“What are you doing?” the woman whispered.
“We’re crawling out this window,” he whispered back.
“Our hands are tied.”
“A minor problem,” he replied. “C’mon. We have to go before they come back.”
After a bit of a struggle, she got to her feet and walked to him.
“Balance with your hands and swing your legs over the sill. I’ll help.”
“I can do it,” she snapped.
“Lady, I’m the only friend you got so don’t be short with me.”
“Sorry. I’m just on edge.”
“We don’t have time for this. Go! Once outside, run into the woods, and don’t look back, even if they capture me, even if they shoot at you. Keep running. Hide. Anything to save yourself because, lady, you don’t want to experience what these guys have in mind for you.”
She visibly paled.
“Go!”
She slid one long leg over the dust-covered ledge, balanced with her clasped hands and slid out kind of sideways, but she’d done it. Thank God she wore flats. High heels would have made running away impossible.
He followed and had to bend low to get his body through the hole. Then he was off running behind her. Shots rang out, disturbing the stillness of the trees. Disturbing his equilibrium. He caught up with her.
“I can’t breathe,” she gasped.
He had that problem, too. The heat was suffocating, and he knew they had to stop or collapse from it. They came to a gully and slid down it. He took her clasped hands and pulled her up the other side. They gulped in hot air.
Voices echoed through the trees.
“We have to go. Walk on the leaves. Try not to disturb them.” She followed orders easily and he liked that. The woods grew thicker and difficult to get through. “We have to find a hiding place.”
“Where?” She looked at the dense woods all around them.
He pushed through thick yaupons and saw a felled oak tree with more yaupons growing around it. “C’mon.” The tree was big and had been dead for some time. “We’ll hide behind this.” He pulled back some branches and they crawled in. “Lie lengthways against the trunk, your taped hands out in front, and don’t make a sound.” She stretched out against the trunk and he joined her—their hands inches apart.